


Memories

by Retr0



Series: A Thief's Legacy [1]
Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Anal Sex, Angst, Eventual Sex, Fluff, Gay, Gay Sex, Humor, M/M, Non-Canon Relationship, Oral Sex, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 05:40:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10984518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Retr0/pseuds/Retr0
Summary: Nathan wakes up in the middle of the night and finds himself reminiscing on his relationship with Rafe Adler, and how their journey brought them to where they are today.





	Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I decided to explore a new theme and pair Nathan Drake and Rafe Adler and see where this goes. 'Memories' is the first work in a series of short stories I'm working on involving their relationship. I'm having a lot of fun with this so far, so we'll see where this road leads. For the sake of this series, I'm rewriting the events of Uncharted 4; I won't trouble you guys with a full redone synopsis, but in this little world, Rafe was never the villain and the hunt for Libertalia unfolded in a different way.

Nathan Drake sat in the leather armchair that faced the bay window in the bedroom, with a glass of whiskey in his hand. It was a warm summer night with a cool breeze coming in from the ocean, of which he had a magnificent view. As the ocean waves crashed against the rocks and teased the shoreline, the restful sounds filled the room as the moon reflected on the crisp water, illuminating the western side of the house. Nathan sighed, perhaps for the eighth time that night, and watched as the ice cubes in his drink danced as he slowly spun the glass in circles, his arm draped over the side of the chair.

“What are you doing?” a tired voice asked from the bed, sounding like a mixture of concern and annoyance.

Nathan looked over at Rafe, tangled in the sheets, with one arm under his pillow and the other outstretched to Nathan’s side of the bed. He lay on his stomach with sleepy eyes watching the younger of the two Drake brothers. Nathan could see Rafe’s slender, yet muscular frame under the thin fabric of the sheets and watched as he hesitantly sat up in bed, first propping himself up on an elbow before fully sitting upright and moving to the edge, unintentionally dragging the sheets with him.

Nathan stood from the armchair and moved to the bed, sitting next to Rafe, who took the glass from his hand and drank from it.

“Did I wake you?” he asked, taking back the glass and setting it on the nightstand.

Rafe shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, a habit of his that he usually demonstrated when he was either worried about something or in deep thought. “Did you have another nightmare?”

Nathan allowed a small smirk to appear on the side of his lips. Rafe knew him better than anyone ever could—he had a rather profound ability to detect exactly what was bothering Nathan at almost any given moment, and usually knew how to rectify any negative emotions.

“It was the Panama one again,” he confessed.

Rafe sighed. “You know that Samuel is just two rooms over.”

Nathan was spending time with Rafe at his home in Cannes and Sam came along for the vacation, exploring most of France during the day, leaving Rafe and Nate to themselves. Nathan knew that Sam was in the guest bedroom down the hall, either sleeping or catching up on his favorite television shows. After their expedition in Libertalia, Rafe retired to the hillside manor previously owned by his father and oversaw the business operations in France for a time.

“It wasn’t just that—it was different this time,” Nathan replied, shaking his head. “You were in this one and I lost both of you.” There was pain in his voice, as the nightmare truly upset the balance of his emotions. “It felt so real. I know it wasn’t, but it just…”

Rafe tugged at Nathan’s cotton shirt and pulled him close, pressing their lips together in a reassuring kiss that brought Nathan back to the reality of being in Rafe’s bedroom with him, feeling as though all was right in the world. Rafe moved to lay on his back and pulled Nathan down with him. Nathan positioned himself between Rafe’s legs, with one hand on his waist and the other behind his neck. Nathan broke away from their continuous affection to look into Rafe’s eyes, only part of his face slightly illuminated by the gorgeous light of the summer moon.

Rafe reached out and caressed Nathan’s cheek, holding his face for a moment before tracing his jawline with his fingers. Nathan could see his lips parted, as if he was about to speak, but he pursed them shortly after—a tell that Nathan was quite familiar with. Vulnerability was something that Rafe detested and in hindsight, it was the root cause for a lot of the off-and-on strain in their relationship.

“Rafe…” Nathan exhaled, sounding troubled.

“I love you,” he finally whispered, a sound of hesitation and resignation in his voice.

Nathan knew what he and Rafe felt for each other was real, but the younger man’s insatiable desire for dominance and power prevented him from being completely open about his emotions. It was as though Rafe had to force himself to lower his guard and open up to Nathan and even speak words of passion that were more than blatant, lust-fueled obscenities in bed. Despite the frustration of it all, Nathan understood and never once tried to change how Rafe was, and Rafe was sure to share his appreciation of the fact. The two of them shared a sort of mutual understanding and over time, Nathan grew able to read Rafe’s emotions without the inherent need to express them. Rafe had moments, though, where he managed to surprise Nathan and share his feelings almost effortlessly, like tonight, for instance.

“…and I love you,” Nathan assured him, watching a subtle smile grow on his lips. “I’ll always love you.”

Rafe adjusted his position, moved slightly over on the bed, and turned the nightstand lamp onto its dimmest setting. He lay on his side and looked into Nathan’s eyes. “When did you know that you were in love with me?”

Nathan raised an eyebrow, surprised by the question, and found himself deep in thought. It wasn’t an inherently difficult question, but Nathan wasn’t always an expert when it came to his emotions—it was slightly challenging to pinpoint pivotal moments in their relationship, especially given their history and journey to where they were now.

“Well,” Nathan began, clearing his throat, “To be perfectly honest, I don’t really know. When you and I first met, I felt something for you that very moment, and I didn’t know how to process that. As time went on, certain things about you made those feelings stronger.”

“Like what?” Rafe asked, intrigued.

“Your remarkably dry sense of humor, for starters. You are very quick witted and you always have a clever retort at the ready. You’re eloquent and charming, which is incredibly attractive,” he smiled. “Even in Scotland, when we got into that massive fight; it was painful, but it allowed me to understand you more. I never truly realized the sentimental value of finding Avery’s treasure until you opened up to me about your family.”

Rafe frowned. “Nate, I don’t want—”

Nathan nodded. “I know. You don’t want to revisit that, and we won’t. It’s just an important part in my answer to your question. When you opened up to me in Scotland, I could tell that it wasn’t something you do often, if at all. I felt closer to you than ever before.” Nathan paused for a moment. “I think that’s when I realized I was in love with you.”

Rafe sighed. “Why did you leave, then?”

“I didn’t think you wanted me around. Rafe, I didn’t know how you felt about me. We had that insane fight about the treasure and I was still mourning Sam—I just thought I needed to get out of your way and move on with my life.”

“I never wanted you to leave…not once.” Rafe sat up in bed and moved to the edge, with his back to Nathan. “Nate, when you left me behind in Scotland, you were out doing everything I couldn’t do. You found El Dorado, you discovered Shangri-La, and the Iram of the Pillars. It was Nathan Drake this and Nathan Drake that and ‘Nathan Drake is a legend.’ I was envious, but I was even more hurt because that could have been us doing those things together.” Rafe swallowed hard and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.

Nathan moved to the end of the bed and sat behind Rafe, his legs on either side of him. He rubbed his bare shoulders and kissed the nape of his neck. “I was going to come back to you, Rafe. I wasn’t at that auction to go after Avery’s treasure alone. We’ve talked about this before. I wanted to get the cross and surprise you with a new lead, but I didn’t think I’d find you there.” Nathan laughed. “My romantic plan was ruined, but we picked up where we left off and we found the treasure together…along with Sam and Sully and Nadine and Shoreline.”

Rafe laughed. “I wouldn’t have hired Nadine if I knew you were coming back, but I paid her a pretty penny upfront and needed to get my money’s worth.”

“You know she never liked me.”

Rafe ran a hand through his hair. “No, she hated you. She hated Sam, too, but she respected the two of you. I wonder what she’s been up to.”

Nathan smirked. “She’s in India. An old friend of mine, Chloe, sent a postcard and a letter telling me that she and Nadine are going after some Hindu tusk. I don’t have all the details, but I’m sure they’re having fun.”

Rafe turned and kissed Nathan again, gently grabbing onto his shirt. “Do you feel better now?”

Nathan nodded. “Yeah, I do. So, we’re okay?”

“We’ve always been okay,” he reassured him.

Nathan moved with Rafe back to the middle of the bed and laid down together, the bed sheets an absolute mess. Nathan put an arm behind his head while the other slipped under Rafe as he moved closer to Nathan and rested his head on his chest. “You know, I don’t think we’ve ever talked about your feelings this long before.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Rafe laughed. “You’re the one who dug up that old memory and I didn’t want you to have any inaccurate information about my feelings.”

Rafe turned over for a moment and shut off the lamp; the bedroom was once again bathed in nothing but moonlight as the curtains by the balcony doorway danced in the summer breeze.

“You know, there’s some uncharted territory we haven’t explored in a few days,” Nathan said, sliding a hand under the fabric of Rafe’s boxer briefs.

Rafe chuckled and straddled Nathan. “Aye, aye, Captain.”


End file.
